US State Department Annual Assessment of Continued Human Rights Violations in Iran
The U.S. State Department, in its annual report on the state of human rights worldwide, accused Iran of multiple human rights violations, including unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government and its agents, forced disappearances, torture, political detention, and political retaliation measures against individuals in other countries such as murder and abduction.
The U.S. State Department cited, among other sources, statements by Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, who states that virtually all executions in Iran constitute arbitrary deprivation of life, and the Islamic Republic uses the death penalty as a political tool.
The department further references reports on politically motivated abductions for which Iran’s government has been accused, noting that plainclothes officers conduct arrests of lawyers, journalists, and civil activists without prior warning, while government officials refrain from confirming arrests or providing information about them.
Torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees is another matter for which Washington has accused Iran. In its report, it references cases of physical and psychological torture of political opponents in various Iranian prisons. These tortures and cruel acts include threats of execution or rape, forced vaginal or anal examinations, sleep deprivation, denial of medical care, and electric shock.
Hours before the release of this report, Amnesty International had also published the results of its investigation into how Islamic Republic officials have treated prisoners, describing how they caused or were primarily responsible for the death of approximately one hundred inmates through preventing or delaying emergency transfers to hospitals.
The U.S. State Department report further references widespread arrests of political opponents, dissidents, and religious minorities in Iran, which were made solely on account of their beliefs. It states that the Iranian government tries and imprisons political opponents on vague charges such as “counter-revolutionary activities,” “spreading corruption on earth,” “collaboration with global arrogance,” and “enmity with God.”
The United States State Department also accused the Islamic Republic of retaliating against its political opponents outside the country, citing cases of abduction or attempted abduction.
Ruhollah Zam was one such political opponent whom Iranian security forces took from Paris to Iraq through kidnapping, held him there, and then transferred him to Iran, ultimately executing him. Habib Asyoud and Jamshid Sharmaghd are two other activists who were abducted in similar ways and transferred to Iran. The report also references attempts to abduct Masih Alinejad, a political activist residing in the United States.
Part of the U.S. State Department report addresses Iran’s role in regional conflicts, accusing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s government of supporting militant groups and terrorist organizations in Iraq and Yemen.
The report states that the Iranian government supports terrorist organizations such as Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, which has played a role in unlawful executions, forced disappearances, and other human rights violations in that country. The Islamic Republic has also prolonged the war in Yemen by spending hundreds of millions of dollars, and weapons it has provided to Houthi rebels have been used in attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Source: Radio Farda
